I just got the 'go-ahead' from Antoine to share some inside details from the upcoming D-Day Landings expansion! More information will be available once the rules are posted for everyone to read, but until then I know there are some curious people...so here are some answers in no particular order:

1) You can play each map by itself (Extended Breakthrough), linked to a neighbor (Sword + Juno, Juno + Gold, etc) in the official OverThrough battles, in groups of three (Sword, Juno, Gold or Omaha, Utah, American Airborne), or all 6 maps linked in the Operation Neptune battle.

2) Air Rules are not in effect for any scenario.

3) Supported Armor and Supported Infantry don't have new badges...they use Battle Stars but have interesting new rules.

4) These maps use the Breakthrough deck. You need one Breakthrough deck per map...or the Overlord Deck if you're playing an OverThrough battle. You can, of course, use 2 normal decks (shuffled together) instead of Breakthrough but then you're missing the nice On The Move orders!

5) The D-Day maps use lots of units from the Equipment Pack. Hobart's Funnies are featured quite a bit and other units will add to the visual enjoyment.

6) The maps are single sided and are paper, not mounted. I can't imagine how expensive the expansion would need to be if each map was mounted!

7) The Terrain Pack is needed for badges (obviously not for the terrain, since the maps are pre-printed).

It's possible I've overlooked something, so don't hold me to these numbers...but this gives a general idea of what players will need for each type of battle.

Remember, the goal is that you gather friends together, pool your Memoir '44 equipment, and spend the day playing a massive battle! It's highly unlikely that players will have enough equipment on their own to play the larger battles.

The requirements are insanely disappointing. Won't be able to play the three boards variant not to mention the full setup. And here I was really looking forward to this one... Well I'll probably buy it anyway but I really would have loved to play on a larger scale. Darn but it looks great.

Wow! The requirements for the full 6 maps is a lot, I figure using poker chips or A&A chips will spread out the minis a lot. I have 3 base games but only 1 of each of the expansions so I'm not sure how this will work out for me but there may be ways to compensate for some of the missing items...to me, the BT decks will be the toughest hurdle...

Once again, it is not expected that you are playing these larger maps by yourself! You can always substitute other troops to make something work (or like some players have suggested, use tokens in a hex with one figure) but to play the larger battles you need to get together with friends.

I'll take a look when I have more time to see if I can be more exact about how many base games you would need, since I put a range in there. Not all maps need 2 base games to set up, though you won't have many troops for reinforcements without a second set.

Jessie thank you for the extra details. I am slightly disappointed that so many base sets and expansions are needed but that is understandable given the size of this experience.

A couple of questions/thoughts if you can comment on.

1. Why is the OL Deck used for 2 maps and the BT decks used for 3 and 6 maps? Would it be possible to combined OL and BT decks? For example using with the 6 maps could you use 3 OL decks or 1 OL and 4 BT decks or even 2 OL decks and 2 BT decks?

2. There are clearly 6 single map scenarios. For 2 maps are there 5 combination scenarios? For 3 maps there could be 4 sceranrios. Are there that many or only 2?

Very excited to have this in my greedy hands. Thanks for all your efforts in sharing with the community what you can.

Seems I was spot-on about the BT deck being the biggest requirement. I see the point about this being aimed at clubs / conventions but there seems no way round having to get Winter Wars just for the BT deck.

I have a very good Memoir collection with everything and most things twice - but only one BT deck. My regular playing partner is in the same position.

I think it pretty obvious that DOW did not create this for solo play. Certainly it is intended as a cooperative full day team event to play through if folks did the whole Operation Neptune. I think it is a great idea even though my chances of playing it as a full event in my lifetime are pretty slim.
Nevertheless, as someone who loves Memoir '44 and the historical angle, this is a great opportunity. I can see playing each one of the extended Breakthrough scenarios with a friend as part of an Operation Neptune campaign. That gives us 6 great large battles to play and combine the total score.
We can even switch sides and play again to have winners for individual beaches as well as the entire campaign.
Since I personally own all the expansions necessary to play one of the single maps, I have no need to buy anything else.
So count me in on this.

Don't get me wrong - I appreciate the information and my speculation is just for fun. I'm just trying to figure out how to play the whole thing given what I have/am willing to get. Getting 11 other players is doable in my locale but 12 players with a copy of Memoir '44 is not. Might be time to hit the hobby store for 1/72 plastic soldiers.

1. Are triple maps played as 3 separate Breaktrhrough with regards to cardplays, with a shared wincondition?

All players have their own deck, bring in their reinforcements, order their troops, send soldiers to help floundering flanks, and advance their cause...and the team wins or loses together. Does that answer your question?

ad79 wrote on Fri, 21 March 2014 10:55

2: will Dow start selling BT decks separately? I can see myself getting 2 of those to be able to play triple maps.

I don't know anything about that. You'll have to ask customer service.

Jesse thank you for the extra details. I am slightly disappointed that so many base sets and expansions are needed but that is understandable given the size of this experience.

Like you said, it's going to be huge, so I don't see how very many less sets could be required for a battle on such a huge scale. But not everyone will be able to play Operation Neptune very often. Like Stevens said, most of us will play each battle map by itself, in which case this expansion provides 6 very exciting scenarios!!

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A couple of questions/thoughts if you can comment on.

1. Why is the OL Deck used for 2 maps and the BT decks used for 3 and 6 maps? Would it be possible to combined OL and BT decks? For example using with the 6 maps could you use 3 OL decks or 1 OL and 4 BT decks or even 2 OL decks and 2 BT decks?

Using the OL deck with larger configurations would get very complicated since with the 3-map and 6-map battles you don't have the Overlord format of Left, Center, Right flanks. You could certainly use the decks and make it work (I would think) but you would still be missing the On the Move orders.

Quote:

2. There are clearly 6 single map scenarios. For 2 maps are there 5 combination scenarios? For 3 maps there could be 4 sceranrios. Are there that many or only 2?

You can combine the maps in any order you want...heck, you could even combine the American Airborne map with Juno Beach, though none of the roads would line up and the Ocean would end abruptly. In the rule book, you'll be able to combine the maps 8 official ways. 5 ways for 2-map combos, 2 ways for 3-map combos (by country), 1 way with all 6 maps.

So essentially people are getting 14 different battle experiences with this expansion! That's pretty cool for such huge maps!!

Even someone who can get together with one other friend (and can make the 2-map combos) could play any of 11 battle maps!

4) These maps use the Breakthrough deck. You need one Breakthrough deck per map...or the Overlord Deck if you're playing an OverThrough battle. You can, of course, use 2 normal decks (shuffled together) instead of Breakthrough but then you're missing the nice On The Move orders!

OK, I have one of everything and 2 of the base games and 2 of all three army expansions. I'm thinking where there is a will, there is a way. Adapt and overcome...I heard that once, or saw it in a movie I think...(wink-wink).

Also, a good friend of mine has the exact same items I do (but he didn't paint his...snicker-snicker), so...

Between the two of us, we have 2 breakthrough decks, 2 overlord decks, and 4 regular game decks (which combined 2 each form essentially 2 more overlord decks).

So I'm thinking that we have 6 decks of cards between the two of us. Would that work? Or be close enough for a "poor mans" version?

As far as the "on the move" with the overlord decks, couldn't one basically "assign" the same or equivalent "on the move" orders to their non-breakthrough counterparts?

Alternatively, would DoW allow players to copy their breakthrough decks at a local printer like Kinkos? Give permission that is, or folks like Kinkos won't do it.

Vlec wrote on Fri, 21 March 2014 17:02

Wow! The requirements for the full 6 maps is a lot, I figure using poker chips or A&A chips will spread out the minis a lot.

If you use poker chips, or mini poker chips aka Axis & Allies style, you essentially quadruple your infantry units, triple your armor, and double your arty; from any single game or expansion. So IMHO, the units aren't going to be that tough to work around if you don't have a platoon of friends who also own Memoir 44. Especially the arty, a little russian arty would work well as a proxy.

So, if you ask me, are there some challenges for those of us wanting to play Operation Neptune if the opportunity should arise? Sure there are, but you all know that if you can somehow muster the pieces to play Operation Neptune, finding the players will actually be the easy part. Memoir 44 is the one wargame that non-wargamers will play (aside from Wings of Glory).

Sure there are some challeges here, but nothing to even compare with what the troops that hit the beach faced...and after all, isn't that what this is all about in the first place?

We need an special Overlord deck with On The Move orders and the other card modifications (Sandbags, Medics. . .) of the Breakthrough deck.

You don't need lots of extra BT decks. You just need to know the special BT-deck rules. (WW rule book, page 6.)

Air Power -- 2d for both sides.
Battage -- Star is a hit, too.
Dig In -- Artillery may get sandbags, as well as infantry.
Medics -- Don't designate any units to be reinforced. Just roll 4d, and apply any inf, arm, or star rolls to whichever one or more of your units you want. All ordered units may move and battle.
On The Move -- Attack cards may move 1 extra unit, Probe and Recon-1 cards may move 2 extra units. These units may be in any of your sections and may move, but may not battle or perform any special actions.

Other Notes: It is recommended that players have more troops available to bring in as reinforcements, and some of the units are Supported Armor or Supported Infantry, needing additional figures. As such, the starting number of troops might be a bit higher than the above list seems. But players could use the listed number of expansions for each map.

EDIT: I had missed the 9 British Airborne units on Sword Beach, so the numbers have been modified to reflect that.

Based on the above numbers, and if players don't want to have extra Infantry troops available for reinforcements, I have a minimum list formed that players would need for each set-up. Again, this is a bare minimum but the extra troops could come from any source (like another Army Pack, other model companies, poker chips, other WWII games, etc.), the cards could come from another place (Overlord or two normal decks), and other items could be proxied if needed.

Mode Summary - Any of the Single Map setups could be played if someone owned 2 Base Games, 1 Terrain Pack, 1 Equipment Pack, and 1 Winter Wars (although the two decks from the base game could also be used, eliminating the Winter Wars requirement).

Mode Summary - The Double-Map setups could probably be played if someone owned 2 Base Games, 1 Terrain Pack, 1 Equipment Pack (though Landing Craft might run low, and 2 Winter Wars (although the Overlord Deck could also be used, eliminating the Winter Wars requirement). To be safe, 2 Base Games and 2 of the other expansions would ensure enough of everything.

Mode Summary - Operation Neptune will require a ton of Infantry units, which is why so many base games are needed. I've calculated that you could probably make do with 7 base games but 8 would be even better and more would give lots of available reinforcements. Again, Landing Craft will be needed for the 5 Landing maps, but those could be subsidized from other expansions you might own, or home-made proxies. The playing decks will require 6 Winter Wars or 12 base decks, or a combination of Breakthrough decks, base decks, and Overlord Decks. Basically each map needs its own deck of some kind.

I hope all of this info helps people figure out what will be required!

Don't forget that you aren't meant to provide everything for the larger battles, and you can always change things to fit what you have access to. Richard's goal is always for people to have fun, so if that means you proxy things, use strange combos of decks, or modify the rules a little bit, he isn't going to mind and nobody will complain. If you're having fun, you can play however you want!

This expansion offers a ton of fun map combinations and should be an amazing way to pull in lots of players. The maps are beautiful, you can see from the picture on Facebook how amazing it looks all set up, and the rules are great. This looks to me like a great Memoir '44 expansion and a wonderful way to remember D-Day this year and for many years to come. Enjoy!

EDIT: I had missed the 9 British Airborne units on Sword Beach, so the numbers have been modified to reflect that.

If you mark the SWA and other special units with badges on some boards and EP figures on other boards, does that reduce the number of Terrain Packs?

I'm afraid I don't have time to go through each map and determine the very minimum number of Terrain Pack and Equipment Pack sets that would be required. Part of the problem is that by eliminating copies of one or the other you're also limiting the reinforcements that are available to the generals.

Having said that, combining badges and figures could reduce the number of required sets. I'm sure that once the D-Day Landings expansion is available to everyone, people will find ways to reduce the expansions to a bare-bones crew and if you're anything like me you have tons of miniatures sitting around that could reduce things even further.

Basically, the requirements aren't as huge as my first estimation! So that's good news to everyone, I'm sure.

I am going to make some square scraps of paper with 1,2,3,4 on each side to mark how many figures are in the unit. Putting that under a single figure and just turning the correct strenght towards your opponent will make it possible to use just 2 basegames for the infantry units on the German side. 2 basegames and 2 med. Theaters will take care of the Allied side.
Operation Overlord chits can stand in as reinforcements.

Using the overlord deck and combining my 4 regular decks into 2 more OL decks will take care of the cards.(It is easy enough to allow on the move for these decks.A simple playaid will do that)

Being a little creative, I think the badges can be fixed.(If 2 Terrain packs aren't enough)

Making my kitchen table 25 cm deeper and over a metre longer might be a bigger problem. (My 7-year old daughter's dry comment when I told my (unenthusiastic) wife about this: "Daddy, then you have to play on the floor!") (I work at a school so the table should be doable during a weekend or holiday)

Getting together with enough "stuff" to play I feel will not be a problem.

Keeping track of everyone's personal belongings and redeviding at the end of the battle is more of a concern I think. (I certainly don't want to go home with more than I own, but definitely also not with less! )

For a poor man's version:
I don't see why you can't have 4 players draw from the same 80 card breakthrough deck. So 1 deck per 2 adjacent boards is enough.
2 basegame decks can be combined into another 80 card deck with a player aid for different rules and on the move orders.
Some goes for operation overlord deck.

Then: you could use the chits from operation overlord: mark a full strength unit with 1 chit (instead of the full number of chits) and replace it by figures once they get damage.
Question about reinforcements: are they added to the board at game start or during the game? In the second case, you can use casualties to make the reinforcements.

In any case, I don't want to play the 6 boards at once with just 2 players. Way too long. Playing overlord 1 vs 1 is already a hassle.

And half of the people I know that can play these scenarios also own the game and some expansions. So I doubt I would have to use many of the poor man's adaptations.

Getting together with enough "stuff" to play I feel will not be a problem.

Keeping track of everyone's personal belongings and redeviding at the end of the battle is more of a concern I think. (I certainly don't want to go home with more than I own, but definitely also not with less! )

Every player can write down what he brings to the table:
Player A: 40 german infantry figures, 40 allied infantry figures, I breakthrough deck, &#8230;
Player B: &#8230;
At the end of the game, you gather from the table what you need to get everything from your list.

Or mark (paint?) all the figures that you bring to the table in your own unique style.

Getting together with enough "stuff" to play I feel will not be a problem.

Keeping track of everyone's personal belongings and redeviding at the end of the battle is more of a concern I think. (I certainly don't want to go home with more than I own, but definitely also not with less! )

Every player can write down what he brings to the table:
Player A: 40 german infantry figures, 40 allied infantry figures, I breakthrough deck, &#8230;
Player B: &#8230;
At the end of the game, you gather from the table what you need to get everything from your list.

Or mark (paint?) all the figures that you bring to the table in your own unique style.

Getting together with enough "stuff" to play I feel will not be a problem.

Keeping track of everyone's personal belongings and redeviding at the end of the battle is more of a concern I think. (I certainly don't want to go home with more than I own, but definitely also not with less! )

Every player can write down what he brings to the table:
Player A: 40 german infantry figures, 40 allied infantry figures, I breakthrough deck, &#8230;
Player B: &#8230;
At the end of the game, you gather from the table what you need to get everything from your list.

Or mark (paint?) all the figures that you bring to the table in your own unique style.

A simple coloured dot under the unit will also help with that.

That's indeed a way to mark the units in your own style.
Then you'll get your units back. If you don't care which figures you get back, as long as you get the right number, writing it down might be faster.

As an aside:
If you live with pets and play on the floor just plan for some unit attrition.
Last time I did this the dog ate one land mine and half a sandbag while we were on break.
Fortunately, the mine was diffused.

Back on topic:
It seems like the one thing that would be the most helpful for folks would be the ability to get extra decks of BREAKTHROUGH Command Cards without having to purchase the entire Winter Wars set. It would be a nice bonus if these were sold separately and a greater incentive to purchase the D-Day Landings Map Set.